Human body weight

The term human body weight is used colloquially and in the biological and medical sciences to refer to a person's mass or weight. Body weight is measured in kilograms, a measure of mass, throughout the world, although in some countries such as the United States it is measured in pounds, or as in the United Kingdom, stones and pounds. Most hospitals, even in the United States, now use kilograms for calculations, but use kilograms and pounds together for other purposes.

Strictly speaking, body weight is the measurement of weight without items located on the person. Practically though, body weight may be measured with clothes on, but without shoes or heavy accessories such as mobile phones and wallets and using manual or digital weighing scales. Excess or reduced body weight is regarded as an indicator of determining a person's health, with body volume measurement providing an extra dimension by calculating the distribution of body weight.

Average weight around the world

By region

Region	Adult population (millions)	Average weight	Overweight population / total population	Source
Africa	535	60.7 kg (133.8 lb)	28.9%	[1]
Asia	2,815	57.7 kg (127.2 lb)	24.2%	[1]
Europe	606	70.8 kg (156.1 lb)	55.6%	[1]
Latin America and the Caribbean	386	67.9 kg (149.7 lb)	57.9%	[1]
North America	263	80.7 kg (177.9 lb)	73.9%	[1]
Oceania	24	74.1 kg (163.4 lb)	63.3%	[1]
World	4,630	62.0 kg (136.7 lb)	34.7%	[1]

By country

Country	Average male weight	Average female weight	Sample population / age range	Methodology	Year	Source
Brazil	72.7 kg (160.3 lb)	62.5 kg (137.8 lb)	20–74	Measured	2008–2009	[2]
Canada	80.3 kg (177 lb)			Measured
Chile	77.3 kg (170.4 lb)	67.5 kg (148.8 lb)	15+	Measured	2009–2010	[3]
Finland	82.1 kg (181 lb)			Measured
Germany	82.4 kg (181.7 lb)	67.5 kg (148.8 lb)	18+	Measured	2005	[4]
South Korea	68.6 kg (151.2 lb)	56.5 kg (124.6 lb)	18+	Measured	2007	[5]
Sweden	81.9 kg (180.6 lb)	66.7 kg (147.0 lb)	16–84	Measured	2003-2004	[6]
UK – Wales	84.0 kg (185.2 lb)	69.0 kg (152.1 lb)	16+	Measured	2009	[7]
United States	88.3 kg (194.7 lb)	74.7 kg (164.7 lb)	20+	Measured	2003-2006	[8]

Global statistics

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine published a study of average weights of adult humans in the journal BMC Public Health and at the United Nations conference Rio+20.^[9]

Rank	Country	Kilograms	Pounds	Relative size
1	Micronesia	87.398	192.68
2	Tonga	87.344	192.56
3	United States	81.928	180.62
4	Samoa	78.544	173.16
5	Kuwait	77.791	171.50
6	Australia	77.356	170.54
7	Malta	76.956	169.66
8	Qatar	76.866	169.46
9	Croatia	76.412	168.46
10	United Kingdom	75.795	167.10
11	UAE	75.532	166.52
12	Greece	75.038	165.43
13	Cyprus	74.802	164.91
14	Egypt	74.271	163.74
15	Barbados	73.831	162.77
16	Belarus	73.663	162.40
17	Bahrain	73.550	162.15
18	Germany	73.042	161.03
19	Solomon Islands	72.797	160.49
20	Austria	72.743	160.37
21	Saudi Arabia	72.638	160.14
22	Iceland	72.584	160.02
23	Trinidad & Tobago	72.538	159.92
24	Argentina	72.434	159.69
25	Bahamas	72.380	159.57
26	Finland	72.348	159.50
27	Israel	71.912	158.54
28	Czech Rep.	71.640	157.94
29	New Zealand	71.631	157.92
30	Bulgaria	71.459	157.54
31	Russia	71.418	157.45
32	Slovenia	71.200	156.97
33	Slovakia	71.060	156.66
34	Albania	71.019	156.57
35	Bosnia	71.001	156.53
36	Switzerland	70.987	156.50
37	Rep. of Moldova	70.978	156.48
38	Venezuela	70.788	156.06
39	Chile	70.593	155.63
40	Georgia	70.561	155.56
41	Spain	70.556	155.55
42	Azerbaijan	70.484	155.39
43	Hungary	70.443	155.30
44	Libya	70.429	155.27
45	Luxembourg	70.270	154.92
46	Tajikistan	70.234	154.84
47	Portugal	70.193	154.75
48	Lithuania	70.153	154.66
49	Grenada	70.139	154.63
50	Panama	69.939	154.19
51	Ireland	69.926	154.16
52	Canada	69.767	153.81
53	Jordan	69.649	153.55
54	St Vincent & Grenadines	69.590	153.42
55	Belize	69.377	152.95
56	Poland	69.241	152.65
57	Macedonia	69.209	152.58
58	Italy	69.205	152.57
59	Jamaica	69.064	152.26
60	Sweden	69.064	152.26
61	Turkey	69.046	152.22
62	Cuba	69.037	152.20
63	Mexico	69.023	152.17
64	Mongolia	68.910	151.92
65	Uruguay	68.873	151.84
66	Belgium	68.801	151.68
67	Suriname	68.778	151.63
68	Latvia	68.778	151.63
69	Norway	68.774	151.62
70	Netherlands	68.746	151.56
71	Ukraine	68.674	151.40
72	Guatemala	68.579	151.19
73	Saint Lucia	68.438	150.88
74	Armenia	68.424	150.85
75	Nicaragua	68.415	150.83
76	Vanuatu	68.229	150.42
77	El Salvador	68.220	150.40
78	Lebanon	68.170	150.29
79	Ecuador	68.166	150.28
80	Fiji	68.048	150.02
81	Bolivia	68.034	149.99
82	Dominican Rep.	67.993	149.90
83	Denmark	67.957	149.82
84	Costa Rica	67.853	149.59
85	Tunisia	67.726	149.31
86	Iran	67.608	149.05
87	Turkmenistan	67.563	148.95
88	Paraguay	67.445	148.69
89	Peru	67.440	148.68
90	Syria	67.422	148.64
91	Guyana	67.032	147.78
92	France	66.782	147.23
93	Estonia	66.732	147.12
94	Equatorial Guinea	66.451	146.50
95	Romania	66.401	146.39
96	Colombia	66.370	146.32
97	Uzbekistan	66.351	146.28
98	Kazakhstan	66.265	146.09
99	Brazil	66.093	145.71
100	Mauritius	66.052	145.62
101	Iraq	66.034	145.58
102	Lesotho	65.966	145.43
103	Honduras	65.834	145.14
104	Oman	65.803	145.07
105	South Africa	65.667	144.77
106	Kyrgyzstan	65.413	144.21
107	Botswana	65.045	143.40
108	Cameroon	64.832	142.93
109	Morocco	64.764	142.78
110	South Korea	64.392	141.96
111	Mauritania	64.179	141.49
112	Algeria	63.639	140.30
113	Gabon	62.845	138.55
114	Ghana	62.491	137.77
115	Cape Verde	62.296	137.34
116	Papua New Guinea	62.251	137.24
117	Swaziland	62.097	136.90
118	Djibouti	62.015	136.72
119	Haiti	61.698	136.02
120	Comoros	61.044	134.58
121	Zimbabwe	61.022	134.53
122	Brunei	60.945	134.36
123	Sierra Leone	60.854	134.16
124	Nigeria	60.745	133.92
125	Malaysia	60.682	133.78
126	China	60.555	133.50
127	Angola	60.387	133.13
128	Senegal	60.373	133.10
129	Benin	60.282	132.90
130	Mali	60.078	132.45
131	Yemen	59.802	131.84
132	Philippines	59.715	131.65
133	Namibia	59.584	131.36
134	Sudan	59.407	130.97
135	Togo	59.280	130.69
136	Guinea	59.112	130.32
137	Japan	59.017	130.11
138	Pakistan	58.976	130.02
139	Singapore	58.935	129.93
140	Thailand	58.786	129.60
141	Côte d'Ivoire	58.727	129.47
142	Laos	58.436	128.83
143	Chad	58.196	128.30
144	Niger	57.933	127.72
145	Maldives	57.647	127.09
146	São Tomé and Príncipe	57.561	126.90
147	Burkina Faso	57.456	126.67
148	Congo	57.384	126.51
149	Tanzania	57.293	126.31
150	Gambia	57.071	125.82
151	Uganda	57.007	125.68
152	Afghanistan	56.935	125.52
153	Malawi	56.681	124.96
154	Rwanda	56.635	124.86
155	Myanmar	56.354	124.24
156	Kenya	56.264	124.04
157	Guinea-Bissau	56.087	123.65
158	Mozambique	55.955	123.36
159	Central African Rep.	55.946	123.34
160	Zambia	55.910	123.26
161	Cambodia	55.742	122.89
162	Liberia	55.533	122.43
163	Somalia	55.375	122.08
164	Madagascar	55.157	121.60
165	Burundi	54.127	119.33
166	Congo	53.501	117.95
167	Ethiopia	53.057	116.97
168	India	52.943	116.72
169	North Korea	52.589	115.94
170	Indonesia	52.467	115.67
171	Eritrea	52.041	114.73
172	Timor-Leste	51.950	114.53
173	Bhutan	51.142	112.75
174	Vietnam	50.725	111.83
175	Nepal	50.476	111.28
176	Sri Lanka	50.421	111.16
177	Bangladesh	49.591	109.33
—	world average	61.997	136.68

Estimation in children

An example of a half unfolded Broselow tape.

There are a number of methods to estimate weight in children for circumstances (such as emergencies) when actual weight cannot be measured. Most involve a parent or health care provider guessing the child's weight through weight-estimation formulas. These formulas base their findings on the child's age and tape-based systems of weight estimation. Of the many formulas that have been used for estimating body weight, some include the APLS formula, the Leffler formula, and Theron formula.^[10] There are also several types of tape-based systems for estimating children's weight, with the most well-known being the Broselow tape.^[11] The Broselow tape is based on length with weight read from the appropriate color area. Newer systems, such as the PAWPER tape, make use of a simple two-step process to estimate weight: the length-based weight estimation is modified according to the child's body habitus to increase the accuracy of the final weight prediction.^[12]

The Leffler formula is used for children 0–10 years of age.^[10] In those less than a year old it is

$m = \tfrac{1}{2}a_m + 4$

and for those 1–10 years old it is

$m = 2a_y + 10$

where m is the number of kilograms the child weighs and a_m and a_y respectively are the number of months or years old the child is.^[10]

The Theron formula is

$m = e^{0.175571a_y + 2.197099}$

where m and a_y are as above.^[10]

Ideal body weight

Ideal body weight (IBW) was initially introduced by Devine in 1974 to allow estimation of drug clearances in obese patients;^[13] researchers have since shown that the metabolism of certain drugs relates more to IBW than total body weight.^[14] The term was based on the use of insurance data that demonstrated the relative mortality for males and females according to different height–weight combinations.

The most common estimation of IBW is by the Devine formula; other models exist and have been noted to give similar results.^[14] Other methods used in estimating the ideal body weight are body mass index and the Hamwi method.

Devine formula

The Devine formula for calculating ideal body weight in adults is as follows:^[14]

• Male ideal body weight = 50 kilograms (110 lb) + 2.3 kilograms (5.1 lb) * (height (in) − 60)
• Female ideal body weight = 45.5 kilograms (100 lb) + 2.3 kilograms (5.1 lb) *(height (in) − 60)

Hamwi method

The Hamwi method is used to calculate the ideal body weight of the general adult:^[15]

• Male ideal body weight = 106 pounds (48 kg) + 6 pounds (2.7 kg) * (height (in) − 60)
• Female ideal body weight = 100 pounds (45 kg) + 5 pounds (2.3 kg) * (height (in) − 60)

Usage

Sports

Participants in sports such as boxing, mixed martial arts, wrestling, rowing, judo, Olympic weightlifting, and powerlifting are classified according to their body weight, measured in units of mass such as pounds or kilograms. See, e.g., wrestling weight classes, boxing weight classes, judo at the 2004 Summer Olympics, boxing at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Medicine

Ideal body weight, specifically the Devine formula, is used clinically for multiple reasons, most commonly in estimating renal function in drug dosing, and predicting pharmacokinetics in morbidly obese patients.^[16][17]

See also

• Anthropometry
• Bergmann's Rule
• Birth weight
• Body Mass Index (BMI)
• Body volume index
• Hesse's Rule
• Human height
• List of the heaviest people
• Obesity
• Emaciation
• Overweight
• Underweight
• Weight loss and weight gain
• Weight phobia

References

1. Walpole, Sarah C; Prieto-Merino, David; Edwards, Phil; Cleland, John; Stevens, Gretchen; Roberts, Ian; et al. (18 June 2012). "The weight of nations: an estimation of adult human biomass". BMC Public Health. BMC Public Health 2012, 12:439. 12 (1): 439. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-12-439. PMC 3408371. PMID 22709383. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
2. Do G1, em São Paulo (2010-08-27). "G1 - Metade dos adultos brasileiros está acima do peso, segundo IBGE - notícias em Brasil". G1.globo.com. Retrieved 2012-07-13.
3. Encuesta Nacional de Salud 2009–2010 (p. 81)
4. © wissenmedia in der inmediaONE] GmbH, Gütersloh/München. "Bauer sucht Frau aus dem Lexikon" (in German). wissen.de. Retrieved 2012-07-13.
5. "The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea - Average Korean Now Overweight". English.chosun.com. 2009-07-27. Retrieved 2012-07-13.
6. "6 kilo mer man och 4 kilo mer kvinna" (in Swedish). Retrieved 2014-02-27.
7. "The Welsh Health Survey 2009, p. 58" (PDF). Wales.gov.uk. 2010-09-15. Retrieved 2011-01-22.
8. "Anthropometric Reference Data for Children and Adults: United States, 2003–2006" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-10-25.
9. Data extracted from "The world's fattest countries: how do you compare?". The Daily Telegraph. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
10. So TY, Farrington E, Absher RK (June 2009). "Evaluation of the accuracy of different methods used to estimate weights in the pediatric population". Pediatrics. 123 (6): e1045–51. doi:10.1542/peds.2008-1968. PMID 19482737.
11. Lubitz, Deborah; Seidel, JS; Chameides, L; Luten, RC; Zaritsky, AL; Campbell, FW (1988). "A rapid method for estimating weight and resuscitation drug dosages from length in the pediatric age group". Ann Emerg Med. 17 (6): 576–81. doi:10.1016/S0196-0644(88)80396-2. PMID 3377285.
12. Wells, Mike (2011). "Clinical: The PAWPER Tape". Sanguine. 1 (2). Retrieved 13 June 2013.
13. Devine, Ben J (1974). "Gentamicin therapy". Drug Intell Clin Pharm. 8 (11): 650–5. doi:10.1177/106002807400801104.
14. Pai, Manjunath P; Paloucek, Frank P (September 2000). "The Origin of the "Ideal" Body Weight Equations". The Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 34 (9): 1066–1069. doi:10.1345/aph.19381. PMID 10981254.
15. Geriatric Nutrition Handbook. p. 15. ISBN 978-0412136412.
16. Jones, Graham RD (2011). "Estimating Renal Function for Drug Dosing Decisions". The Clinical Biochemist Reviews. 32 (2): 81–88. PMC 3100285. PMID 21611081.
17. van Kraligen, S; van de Garde, EMW; Knibbe, CAJ; Diepstraten, J; Wiezer, MJ; van Ramshorst, B; Dongen, EPA (2011). "Comparative evaluation of atracurium dosed on ideal body weight vs. total body weight in morbidly obese patients". British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 71 (1): 34–40. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2125.2010.03803.x. PMC 3018024. PMID 21143499.

External links

• http://www.scymed.com/en/smnxpn/pndfc237.htm - Online calculator for Hamwi method